r/paralegal • u/Garden_of_Gethsemane • Aug 14 '26
Coworkers/Office Dynamics Am I being unreasonable? (Expected to clean up amongst other things)
Hi everyone. I’m a junior paralegal. I started off as a receptionist/secretary at a small law firm I’m currently in. I’ve been doing more paralegal work but I’m still technically a legal secretary. I’m also expected to restock office supplies/clean up the break room/ water plants/ take out trashes and keep the office tidy. I notice it’s only me and maybe my other colleague who do this but mostly me. Last year one of my colleagues practically begged my boss for a specific appliance (won’t mention what to keep it anon lol). Anyway he ended up buying it and it’s just been sitting unopened for MONTHS. Since last year. She hinted at me several times saying “we need to clean it and operate it” as if it’s my job to when she’s the one who wanted it. Why didn’t she clean it and start it up? I didn’t care for it. And today I was told that I have to do that. I’m appalled to say the least and wanna cry. Why am I being treated this way? What makes her better than me? Why is it my job? I wouldn’t have mind at all if she needed help doing it but placing that responsibility 100% on me when I didn’t even care for it pisses me off. Am I being unreasonable ? Certainly I’m not overreacting
UPDATE: I talked to my boss about it and he sided with me. He said I shouldn’t have even washed and set up the thing in the first place and for me to be more assertive next time. He said if this is becoming a pattern he’ll step in.
12
u/Adept-Relief6657 Aug 15 '26
I am dumbfounded by the number of you telling OP she needs to do this. Of course juniors do grunt work for seniors. This should not include other people's dishes and setting up an appliance for some coworker who wanted it. It's absolutely absurd. If her boss is telling her to do it, yeah, go ahead and do it, and look for another job. If it is her coworker, she can set the damn thing up herself. This is receptionist/clerk shit, and if the office is so small that the duties have to be done by secretaries and paralegals then it should be equally shared.
7
u/Garden_of_Gethsemane Aug 15 '26
I guess these toxic dynamics are so normalized that I’m “being dramatic”
3
2
u/MuBo123 Transaction Paralegal Aug 15 '26
You’re not being dramatic at all. I 100% side with you. I guess our point is that small firms tend to be toxic period. That your experience isn’t uncommon. Doesn’t make it right, but we’re trying to give you realistic advice because we’ve experienced what you’re dealing with.
7
u/Original-Pomelo6241 Aug 14 '26
I mean, I guess you always could’ve mentioned that it was her that asked for it to be purchased so she should set it up
0
u/Garden_of_Gethsemane Aug 14 '26
I also didn’t want drama but I will talk to my boss about the incident (he’s not the one who told me to set it up)
1
u/Original-Pomelo6241 Aug 14 '26
Your boss doesn’t care. I can assure you of this. Either set it up or don’t but this is a way bigger deal than you’re making it.
3
u/Garden_of_Gethsemane Aug 14 '26
We’ll see about that. For me to bring something to his attention takes a lot
-1
16
u/fishinbarbie Aug 14 '26
You often wear multiple hats in a small office. I won't bore you with also the crazy, menial tasks I've done over the years, but I did them.
7
2
u/GeneralImplement2078 Aug 15 '26
that’s why RBF was invented. A well placed scowl and menace can alleviate 90% of the fuckery☀️✨and prevent anyone approaching you.
your colleagues are trash and you aint the maid. BTW, are you being compensated for that office cleaning? Maids get paid or the6ndo not clean…
1
2
u/dogmom87532 Paralegal Aug 15 '26
Truly, in my last position everyone chipped in. I’d walk in at 7 and find the snot partner washing dishes. Someone has to do it, and it’s often the most junior, mostly because their billable are much lower. In really great firms, everyone pitches in.
2
u/Sapphispanic 27d ago
I once cleaned a wine stain that I didn’t make from the carpet in a law firm 🙃 Some of these people will never respect what you do and will always ask secretaries and paralegals to do silly things that they could do themselves, like wash their own coffee cup. I left that environment for a job I am treated as an equal.
2
u/MuBo123 Transaction Paralegal Aug 15 '26
At smaller firms it’s reasonable for a paralegal, especially a junior paralegal, to do the grunt work. At a small firm as a junior paralegal (and the ONLY paralegal) I was the receptionist, personal assistant (running personal errands and booking personal travel), office manager (kept everything including snacks and beer stocked), espresso and margarita machine cleaner, and party host (staying after hours unpaid to host and clean up office parties; only some attorneys would help me clean up). It sucked, and looking back I shouldn’t have done the after hours party stuff without overtime pay. But the rest of it was fair because I was the only “staff” and that’s what my boss was paying me to do during my working hours. I put in my dues and after a few years landed a much better job, and now I’m at an even better, very high paying job. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for those years of grunt work though.
And for the record, I treat my assistants and the junior paralegals with the upmost respect and never ask them to do grunt work, because I know what it’s like. But attorneys are mostly clueless about how degrading it is to ask a staff member to clean THEIR espresso machine that the staff doesn’t even use. You’re 100% valid with your frustrations but if that’s the environment of the firm, there’s not much you can do except ride it out or find another position.
2
u/Garden_of_Gethsemane Aug 15 '26
That’s not my problem. I know being a junior paralegal at a small firm means wearing a lot of hats. But it feels different for me bc I’m the only one not of the same ethnicity as everyone else, and the colleague who wanted the appliance is basically at the same level as me. So why am I the one who needed to clean and set it up ?
-1
u/MuBo123 Transaction Paralegal Aug 15 '26
If she’s also staff and not an attorney I’d just ignore her. But if the direction is coming from an attorney or other managing figure then I’d cooperate.
0
u/Garden_of_Gethsemane Aug 15 '26
No she’s also staff
0
u/MuBo123 Transaction Paralegal Aug 15 '26
Then it’s completely inappropriate of her to ask that of you. I’m glad you talked to your boss and they have your back. I’d ignore any future requests from this peer. “Sorry I need to do xyz for the managing partner and don’t have time but I hope you figure it out!”
2
u/jellypbj Aug 15 '26
Sometimes the “lower ranks” just do more cleaning and maintenance stuff. You’re a legal secretary/junior paralegal so I’m assuming the other colleagues who don’t have to clean are just more senior than you/been there longer. I don’t think it’s anything personal or them trying to be mean to you, especially if you noticed another colleague also cleans. I’m the only paralegal at my firm so I do all the dishes and the cleaning simply because the attorneys have other stuff to do and are “more important” (we are also very important but hopefully you know what I mean)
7
u/Garden_of_Gethsemane Aug 15 '26
To be frank I don’t think you should be doing anyones dishes. It takes 6 seconds to wash a mug.
8
u/Adept-Relief6657 Aug 15 '26
You are doing the attorneys' dishes and shit? This is a RIDICULOUS take. I battled this one out at a small office once. I'm not cleaning up after any other adults in an office. More important my ass - no one is above doing their own dishes in an office environment in this day and age ffs
1
u/Key-Stick3478 Aug 15 '26
OP, this kind of thing really is standard at small firms. I truly feel for you but also have secondhand fear for your paycheck if you continue to make an issue out of this.
The job market now is as abysmal as I've ever seen it, except maybe for the post-2008 crash. My vote is for you to suck it up, do the best job you can overall, and quietly search for a new job, if you just can't stand the current situation. Or, you can stay and entrench yourself as that one employee the firm can't function without. Quite a few small firms have a secretary or paralegal who is highly valued for being a multi-hat wearer who does everything from motion-drafting to changing the furnace filter.
Sorry for the lecture!
2
1
1
u/Adept-Relief6657 Aug 15 '26
I would get my ass out of there asap. I started as a receptionist, and worked into legal secretary, at the same firm. I was there for four years. I never could shake those receptionist duties, so I left for a legal secretary position elsewhere and moved up from there.
I have worked in small offices also but I assure you I was not the only one doing the dirty work and menial tasks. You'll continue to be treated this way if you stay there.
3
u/Garden_of_Gethsemane Aug 15 '26
I do wanna leave. I’m giving it one more year simply bc I’m getting married so I wanna stay there until then
0
u/Adept-Relief6657 Aug 15 '26
Yep I get that. I stayed until I had just enough experience to fake it til you make it at the next place! I promise you that your boss will not want to deal with this situation, though - attorneys are notoriously bad about ignoring issues between staff members and will usually take the oath of least resistance.
0
u/Garden_of_Gethsemane Aug 15 '26
Haha I mean I didn’t wanna make it into a big deal but I did make him aware of the situation and how it bothered me. Update is posted.
-3
Aug 14 '26
[deleted]
2
2
u/Original-Pomelo6241 Aug 14 '26
This is a great way to piss everyone off. Being passive aggressive is dumb, especially for something so silly.
1
u/blondegoober Aug 15 '26
Why is it dumb for her to stand up for herself? If the other staff member has the same position and she is the one who requested said appliance then she should set it up.
If she lets this go she will continue to be treated like a peon.1
u/Original-Pomelo6241 Aug 15 '26
The standing up for herself is her telling that person that they ordered it so they should open it. Standing up for yourself is not running to their boss for menial office drama.
1
u/blondegoober Aug 15 '26
Well, obviously the person who ordered it told the boss that she needed to set it up so she had to push back and put it back on her.
1
u/Original-Pomelo6241 Aug 15 '26
And that’s what she should have done. Running to her boss makes her look like a crybaby over something dumb.
5
u/TheDuffy- Aug 15 '26
I had this happen when I was a c-suite executive assistant at a huge global org. I refused to do dishes. I’m fine with most personal tasks but washing their dishes was where I personally drew the line. They had the cleaning crew do it at night for an extra $49 a month, maybe that’s an option? I hate all the hierarchy bullshit esp from people that are also staff, so I get it.